Mandya:
Kannada poet Purohita Thirunarayana Narasimhachar, or PuTiNa as he is more popularly known, did his schooling here as did many other prominent figures. But the 138 year old government Kannada primary school in Melkote, Mandya district lacks even basic infrastructure, and its students continue to sit on the floor as the classrooms are bereft of chairs or desks.
Located on the main street of Melkote, the school has produced prominent journalists like Khadri Shamanna, and judges such as Justice Shivappa, but in 2012 it nearly lost its identity.
Concerned by its poor student strength and lack of basic facilities, the government seriously considered merging it, despite its history, with other, more ordinary institutions. The school, which boasted of 300 students, was left with only 32 at the time.
But fortunately for the institution, education officers and teachers came to its rescue and worked collectively to give it a face-lift.
Thanks to their efforts it now has 85 students and its walls have received a fresh coat of paint after decades. The school compound has been rebuilt and the teachers have sunk a borewell in its grounds to solve its drinking water problem.
But the school clearly has a long way to go as it still has no chairs, desks, a computer learning centre, study or sports material.
Having done everything they could, the teachers say they can do no more and it is upto the government and philanthropic organisations to provide all the equipment the school needs. It is time they acted considering the illustrious alumini it has produced, they emphasise.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by S V Krishna Chaitanya / November 12th, 2013